Thursday, October 15, 2009

Here are the rules for this award:1. You must thank the person who has given you the award. Thanks!

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog. Done!

3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award. Done!

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting. See below.

5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers, link to them and let them know.I can't fulfill this term of the award; I am certain there are many, many bloggers who deserve it, but I just don't read them. I read the same five or six blogs when I get the chance, and that's about it.

To compensate, though, I will go all-out to fulfill the third term of the award: To list seven interesting pieces of information about me. (I don't know that these are actually interesting, but they are the best I can do.)

1. Embarrassing teenage story: In high school (MTA), I once tossed an orange out the window, during a pre-class game of catch. Yes, it was on purpose. No, I did not mean to hit the (red-haired!) cop on the corner...

2. Formative influences: I can remember almost all of my grade school teachers (HALB) and how they influenced me positively.

3. If I had one hour to do anything in the world that was not one of the 613, I would: Watch a 3-year old play.

4. A hobby: I used to write fiction, although I haven't set aside time for it in years. I have written 3 full-length novels - one about a Torah-observant man trying to reconcile his homosexuality with his observance, one about a man masquerading as a rabbi and taking over a synagogue, and one about a man dying in a nursing home, and his family.

5. Odd chumra: I omit the Name of HaShem in singing zemiros on Shabbos, to remind myself to treat the Name with honor. I say it often in the course of learning, so I feel this precaution is necessary for me.

You're quite welcome. Just for the record, I don't routinely pass on chain mail, the only exception being when I feel that there is something of merit in the email that some people I know might appreciate. I nominated you for this award as a way of saying thank you for the obvious time and effort you put into your blog and, yes, for its content. I also don't spend my days reading blogs, but the ones that I do read on a regular basis--yours among them--offer me something I feel worthwhile. So thanks for writing, and keep up the good work!

And oh am I with you re the chocolate, only make mine Hershey's with almonds.

Do you mean that you say "Hashem" instead of the Name, or that you omit it entirely?

Personally, I have the opposite chumrah - I davka say the Name of Hashem in zemiros, so I will treat the zemiros with the requisite koved rosh (and realize that they're actually talking about, you know, God.)

I have often wondered whether it is proper at all to use His name, especially when using tunes that repeat words. Personally, I tend not to use His name, and always do not do so when the tune repeats words.